


Ashes of Eden

by TwicetheTrouble



Series: The Remnants [3]
Category: RWBY, Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Chorus (Red vs. Blue), Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Platonic Soulmates, Remnant is part of RvB, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, injuries, jaune is agent washington
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:36:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28906482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwicetheTrouble/pseuds/TwicetheTrouble
Summary: A simple mission goes wrong and Washington refuses to let another teenager die on his watch. In doing so, he comes to a lot of interesting revelations.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose
Series: The Remnants [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022901
Kudos: 18





	Ashes of Eden

**Author's Note:**

> Well, i didn't want to start posting this part of the series until i was finished with it, but i have horrible impulse control. This particular fic's going to be a couple chapters long (we'll say four for now) since it's all going to be taking place in the same amount of time and dealing with the same thing.
> 
> Yes, the summary and tags are vague on purpose. I'm being very strict about spoilers for this particular fic. 
> 
> Also, the title is from the song "Ashes of Eden" by Breaking Benjamin. I don't normally borrow titles from songs but i was at a loss at what to call this and it just fit too well for me to ignore.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> TBL

“Get down!” Wash shouted, shoving the two that he could reach to the ground as bullets ripped through where they had once been.

It was just supposed to be a supply run. Quick and simple. But nothing ever went as it was supposed to when Wash was in charge. Instead, as it turns out, pirates had the same idea about raiding this small supply cache. They didn’t seem very deterred when they found the Chorus troops already there. Instead they started shooting.

Wash glanced over at the two soldiers as they scrambled to press their backs against the half wall they were using as cover, guns gripped too tightly in their hands.

They were just kids, Washington could tell despite the rebel armor that was supposed to be obscuring it.

“On my signal, run to the jeeps. I’ll give you all covering fire,” Wash told them. They nodded shakily.

“What about the supplies?” Andersmith called over the comms, he and Jensen using a taller wall as their own cover across the way.

“Abandon it.”

“But sir! We need them.”

“Supplies are useless if you’re dead,” Washington told him harshly. “Be ready on my mark.”

“Washington, sir!” Jensen called. “Bitters is still out there!”

Washington took a quick glance past his cover to find Bitters still in the middle of things, using a small, abused barrel for cover. Wash cursed. With the number of pirates shooting at them, there was no way he’d make it with the others.

“Bitters, can you make it to the jeeps?” Wash asked over the comm regardless.

A spray of bullets peppered the ground around his cover, a few clanging against the barrel.

“With all do respect, not a fucking chance,” Bitters said, his voice tense. 

“Alright, you should be able to make it back to me,” Wash said. “I’ll give you a distraction, just move back once their attention is on me.”

“So I can get shot? No thanks. I’d rather live out the rest of my miserable life behind this barrel,” Bitters grumbled. “I’ll set up a shitty farm. It will be great. These assholes are already tilling the soil for me too. How helpful.”

“Do it, Bitters!”

“Fuck. Fine.”

“On my mark,” Wash stated, loading his rifle to prepare himself. “Ready? Mark!” 

Wash popped over the cover, taking a few pot shots at the pirates, watching several fall prone as he did. The pirates’ attention turned on him, allowing most of the platoon to make it to the jeeps unscathed. Andersmith and Jensen held back, trying to wave Bitters forward. 

Bitters hesitated, then swore under his breath before darting towards them.

He was almost in the clear when he collapsed to the ground to the sound of a gun firing. Andersmith and Jensen immediately shot forward, grabbing him and diving behind Washington’s cover. 

“I...told you,” Bitters said through gritted teeth.

“How bad?” Wash asked, dropping down beside them.

“I don’t know,” Jensen said, halfway to panicking even as she put pressure on the bullet wound in his stomach. “I’m not a medic. B-but he was shot. That’s usually pretty bad.”

“Jensen, switch with me. You and Andersmith supply covering fire for the others,” Wash said, putting his gun on his back before kneeling next to Jensen. He took off his gloves quickly, shoving the armored pieces into a suit pocket in order to use the Kevlar fabric to help absorb the blood. He wasn’t sure how well it would work, but it had to be better than nothing. “If a pirate even thinks of moving forward, I want you to shoot them.”

“Yes sir,” they said in unison.

Bitters stiffened a yell as Wash took over, applying pressure to the wound. Wash only had a short glance at it but he didn’t like what he saw.

“Where’s your biofoam?” He asked Bitters.

“Don’t got any,” the teen hissed out. “Used it on Matthews a few months back.”

“What about you two? Biofoam?” Wash asked.

“Used mine last mission,” Jensen said, glancing towards Wash before turning back towards the enemy.

“That was part of the supplies we were supposed to find today,” Andersmith stated, shaking his head.

“Damn it,” Wash hissed.

“Should have let me...make that farm,” Bitters stated, pain lacing through his words. “I’d have lived longer.”

“You’re not dying today,” Wash said, trying to think of something. “I’d never hear the end of it from Grif if his old lieutenant dies on a stupid supply run.”

“Sucks to be you.”

“I’ve had enough people die on my watch, you’re not being added to that list,” Wash said firmly. “Is that clear?”

“Don’t want to be,” Bitter stated. “I’d say I’m too young...but I’ve seen younger die of less.”

“How old are you?” Wash asked after a long moment. Bitters glanced towards him then away again.

“Sixteen,” he answered back. “Maybe. Might be seventeen by now. Hard to tell.”

Wash’s heart clenched painfully. Sixteen. The kid was only _sixteen._ He should be at high school, skipping gym class or something, not here. Not bleeding out in the middle of a never-ending civil war. A sixteen-year-old didn’t deserve to die.

Ruby had been sixteen too.

Wash remembered this with a jolt. She had turned sixteen during the months Remnant tried to fight the Covenant. No one could do anything to celebrate it other than a few birthday wishes and a plundered cookie from the last supply run.

She had been the youngest of them, with everyone else in their group being seventeen, working on eighteen. But she was young when she entered Beacon. She was young when we fought against the invasion. She was young when she died.

“Will I be the youngest on your list?” Bitters asked wryly.

“No,” Wash said quietly, lost in thought. He barely noticed Andersmith glance at him when he said it. He shook his head, snapping himself out of it. This wasn’t Remnant. This wasn’t a Covenant invasion. And this kid _wasn’t going to die today._ “Because you’re never being added to that list, is that clear?”

“That’s not your-”

“Is. That. Clear?” He snapped. 

Bitters didn’t have the chance to answer as Washington’s aura, a normally dormant thing only useful for lessening bullet impacts, flared to life around his bare hands. The yellow light migrated slightly, focusing more on where his hands met Bitters’s wounds. It seemed to pull a dim, pale-orange light forward from Bitters, strengthening it until it covered his armor, Kevlar and metal included.

Washington had no idea what was going on, but he could feel the bleeding beginning to slow, skin slowly starting to stitch together under his fingers. It was healing. How? He didn’t know, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stop now.

“You have a semblance,” Andersmith said in awe. Washington’s head snapped up to find both unwounded lieutenants staring at him. “A strong one too.”

“What? No, I don’t-” Wash cut himself off, unsure where he was going with this. He had never had a semblance, or, if he did, it was dormant; buried deep by years of neglect. This, shouldn’t be possible. What more, _they_ shouldn’t know about them. “How do you know about Semblances?”

Andersmith and Jensen shared a look that Wash wasn’t sure how to translate. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to even if they hadn’t been wearing full face helmets.

“The better question is how do _you_ know about them?” Andersmith stated. “You’re the outsider here, not us.”

“Maybe not,” Jensen said. “He has a semblance after all.”

“Do we have to have this conversation now?” Bitters asked. He sounded stronger than a little bit ago but he was definitely still in pain. “We’re still getting shot at.”

“Right. Escape first. Ask why a Freelancer has a secret super power later,” Jensen stated with a nod.

Wash peaked at the wound under his hands, it was a lot better, and almost completely closed. Not nearly as bad as it had been but still in need of attention. It would have to do for now.

“Do you think you can move?” Washington asked as both auras started to fade back into obscurity.

“Yeah, feels like all the bleeding is internal now,” Bitters said, moving to put pressure on the wound himself as Wash helped him sit up. “That’s where it’s supposed to be, right?”

“Not the time, Bitters,” Andersmith scolded.

“If we’re doing semblancy things, I might be able to cover our escape,” Jensen interceded before Bitters could retaliate. “You’ll have to stay really close to me though. And I won’t be able to do it for long.”

“Just have Agent outsider-with-a-semblance do his glowy thing to you,” Bitters pipped up. “I’m pretty sure it was some sort of aura boosting thing.”

“Which may boost Jensen’s Extended Aura,” Andersmith said with a nod. “Brilliant.”

All three looked at Washington who stared back blankly.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Wash said flatly. “I also have no control over the… ‘glowy thing.’”

“So we will have to go with plan A,” Andersmith said with a nod.

“Stay close and run like hell,” Bitters said. “Just what I want to do with a recovering bullet wound.”

“Oh dear, I’ve never used this outside of car crashes before,” Jensen fretted, putting her gun away, ignoring Washington’s complaints.

“You should have plenty of practice then,” Bitters said flatly.

“Not the time, Bitters,” Andersmith stressed.

Wash helped Bitters up into a kneeling position, looping his arm over his shoulder and got ready to run.

“As your superior, I would like to know what this plan is past stick next to Jensen and run,’” Wash pointed out.

“And I would like to not get shot again,” Bitters said. “Which means leaving now and worrying about all that shit later.”

Wash sighed, he was not going to win this one, that was for certain.

“On your mark, Jensen,” Wash said, getting ready to move.

“Ok. I got this,” she murmured to herself, focusing really hard on clasped hands in front of her. 

A few seconds later her hands shot out, a pinkish-maroon light dome following, barely covering the four of them. To say Wash was stunned, would be vastly underexaggerating what he was feeling right now. 

“Mark!” she shouted.

It was only his training that had Washington running with the others, watching bullets ping off the dome like it was a bubble shield. By the time they got to the jeeps, it was starting to flicker out of existence. Washington threw himself into the driver’s seat, throwing it into drive as soon as everyone was mostly in. He may not know what was going on, or why these kids knew about semblances when no one he’s met in the last twenty years had, but that was a problem for later. Getting everyone out alive was more important.

-

Washington sat in the makeshift waiting room, his leg bouncing tensely as he waited. He ran his fingers through his hair, absently noting how long it was getting. It was just getting long enough to start being unruly, which didn’t go well with his ever-present helmet. He’d have to cut it soon, if it was possible with the resources Chorus had available. If all else failed, he could just shave it with a knife but he never really liked how that turned out. He wasn’t very particular about his hair but he at least liked having some.

Dr. Grey came through the door, snapping Wash out of his thoughts. He was on his feet in a moment, the plastic lawn chair creaking at the sudden movement.

“How is he?” Wash asked, meeting her halfway.

“Bitters? Oh, just fine,” Dr. Grey said happily. She pulled off her helmet with a smile, revealing a young, freckled face and bright green eyes. Her hair was a mass of ginger curls and helmet hair only held back by an old, faded bow that may have been pink at some point.

She looked no older than the children she had been treating.

“His wound was superficial at best. Whatever you did, patched him up quite nicely. He barely even needed stitches. How boring,” Dr. Grey said with a shrug. “I’m more interested in you.”

“How so?” Wash asked nervously as Dr. Grey leaned forward, examining his face closely.

“An outsider with a semblance that boosts an Aura enough to rapidly heal a bullet wound? That’s _very_ interesting,” she said, poking at his face. One such poke sparked green, bringing his aura up to weakly defend against it.

“Hey, what was-”

“Very interesting indeed,” She said, humming in thought. “You’re from Remnant, aren’t you?”

“What?” Wash stared at her in shock, never expecting those words to come out of her mouth.

“You’re originally from Remnant. Judging by your age and startled response, I’d assume you were there long enough for the invasion. Though not much after that,” she said, going back to studying his face. “Most likely one of the many prisoners the Covenant took and never returned. Unfortunately, I don’t have a complete list of those individuals taken-”

She stopped, staring intently into his eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time before grinning widely.

“Though I suppose I won’t need one. You’re Jaune Arc,” she said proudly. Wash felt like all the air got knocked out of his lungs as a chill went down his spine. He hadn’t heard that name in a long time either. “I never forget a face, even after twenty years it seems. You’ve certainly changed a lot. I can tell the war has not been kind to you. Or the universe in general, I’d imagine.”

“How do you know that name?” Wash asked slowly, his mouth dry to the point that his tongue felt more of a hindrance than not.

“We met before, maybe once or twice before the Covenant showed,” she said with a sad smile. “I was recalled to Atlas shortly after it. I didn’t get to see your team again, sadly. It’s alright if you don’t remember me, I was more Ruby’s friend anyways.”

Wash flinched, a phantom pain shooting through his shoulder as it always did upon hearing her name. Like a reminder of the last thing he felt from her side of the bond.

“Who are you?” He said through gritted teeth.

“Doctor Emily Grey, of course,” she said happily. “Though you would have known me as Penny.”

It took longer than it should have for Wash to recall the excitable girl in the tan and green dress that Ruby introduced him to all those years ago.

Wash didn’t know what shocked him more, the fact that she was here or the fact she looked no different than when he last saw her excitedly talking with his bond. Maybe not exactly the same. There were a few scars on her face and neck and her hair was a little longer, and less tame. The biggest change was the lack of naive wonder in her eyes.

“Unfortunately, due to various events I am no longer combat ready, but that doesn’t mean I’m not able to help in different ways,” Grey said with a smile that Wash didn’t know how to read. “Like fixing you up, for instance.”

“Wait, hold on. I’m not injured,” Wash said, taking a step away from her. “And I still have no idea what is going on.”

“You may not be injured but your aura levels are dreadfully low. Who knows what else is wrong after being treated by only Earth-originated doctors for the last twenty years,” she said, waving the concern away as she went back to studying the only part of him not obscured in armor. “They’re alright in a pinch but not much past that, I’m afraid.”

“Penny-”

“It’s Dr. Grey now, silly. I didn’t go to med school just for my title to be ignored, now did I?” She said. 

“Dr. Grey, how are you _here?”_

Dr. Grey gave him a quizzical look, pausing her examination for a moment to do so.

“You don’t know where you are, do you?” she asked slowly.

“This is Chorus, an outlying planet on the edge of colonized space,” Wash answered, flatly. “Unless that’s somehow changed in the last hour.”

“Nope, this is Chorus alright,” she said with a nod. “But it’s only been called Chorus for the last eighteen years or so. It had a different name before the UNSC showed up. The native people still use it among themselves. Care to guess what?”

“I...don’t know,” Wash stated, though he already had an inkling as to what she was going to say.

“I highly doubt that’s the case,” Dr. Grey said back. “But I’ll let it slide. This was once the fine planet of Remnant. I know it’s been a while, but welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [tumblr](https://twicethetrouble.tumblr.com/) for updates and other random stuff!


End file.
